If you are planning on hosting a joint birthday party for two kids who are around the same age, but different genders, this is completely doable. The exact same thoughts apply regarding how to organize it. A decision you will have to make while planning includes if you want to have two different mini-themes(one for the boy and one for the girl) or a general theme that can be used for both boys and girls.

If you host two mini-themes under one joint party umbrella, then it is appropriate to run different crafts, games, and activities for each of the kids, and group them by boys and girls. This is an especially good idea when the kids are in primary school and have a very good sense of what they want for their party themes.

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Life’s busy…is it appropriate to celebrate two of my kids’ birthdays on the same day and give them a joint party?

Having a joint party for two of your kids is a perfect plan, especially when you have a lot on your plate. In fact, I remember when my Mom had a third baby. That summer, my older brother, by four years, and I shared a party. This made sense with only ten days between our birthdays. A general rule of thumb is to make sure the two kids’ birthdays fall within the same month or, at most, the same season.

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My mother-in-law and my daughter both have birthdays close to each other, i.e. two days apart. Given that my daughter is turning one, I would really like to have a special celebration just for her. Still, my MIL insists that we combine their birthdays and have one party to celebrate both of them. Is this appropriate? Are there any other alternatives?

It is natural to want to have a special birthday celebration for your daughter who is turning one. Still, it is understandable that the proud grandmother would also want to celebrate her birthday with her grand baby. If you really don’t want to celebrate them both at one party, then suggest that you have a party for your daughter, and then take your MIL out for dinner with the family. Although the party will revolve around your child, the dinner can celebrate and revolve around both your MIL and daughter, i.e. save the joint celebration for this gathering.

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My sister’s daughter and my daughter are both born on the same day, but three years apart.  Ever since they have had birthday celebrations, we always have a joint birthday party since we both live in the same town.  It makes it easier to have one family party to celebrate them both.  That is up until now.  This year my daughter turns 6 and my niece turns three.  It seems that my sister and I have different ideas about kids’ parties, she thinks it is all about the adults and isn’t planning on inviting any kids; while my daughter is requesting a princess theme, friends to attend, etc.  I am concerned because I want to still celebrate together for our families’ sake, but also feel like we are moving in two different directions with little common ground.  Should we have a joint party again this year?

In this situation, it seems natural that eventually you would begin to celebrate these kids’ birthdays separately.  Consider that the ages 6 and 3 are quite different; whereas when they were younger the party could be done with the cake, ice cream, and no planned activities.  As kids get older, they want to have their friends over to celebrate and they want planned activities, usually around a theme.    This could be just the first time that you are recognizing that a joint party will not work not because the types of parties you both want to plan are quite different these days. Read the rest of this entry »

So, you want to have a joint birthday party for your two kids…one is 11 years old and the other is one! Is this feasible, and, if so, how do you organize it?

Joint parties can be done for your kids no matter the age difference, and here are a few thoughts on how to go about it: Read the rest of this entry »

Another opportunity for a double birthday party…

Of course, if you have twins, this would be very appropriate to celebrate their birthdays together.

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I was just blogging a few days ago about giving your own kids a joint party…when it occurred to me that two separate families may decide to throw their kids party together as well.What is the present etiquette for such an occasion?

Well, it seems to me that if you throw your own kids a joint birthday party…you will basically have a few kids coming over for each of the children. Really, the guest should only bring a present for the child he or she knows and not the sibling.

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